"This city is what it is because our citizens are what they are." ~ Plato
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Good morning , I hope you had a great weekend.
The title of today's thought is not about life in the suburbs. Instead, I want us to think about the title with a specific definition of the terms:
Proximity: Not geographical nearness, but nearness in relation to
time.
City: Not architecture, high-rises, or geography, but a culture of people.
Like it or not, our cities are changing. They are a collective that evolves based upon the ideas of the people. We (the city) are moving and changing because we are living moving people. The city does what we do because it is us.
What if a radical idea was emerging in a city?
Something so unlike anything else that it caused a disruption in the culture. Certainly something like that would divide people into strong polarities:
those who want to protect the city and keep it as it is, and
those who long for the city to come and desire to change.
My question is this: Since we see this
division everywhere within our culture, is there a way to deduce the radical idea that has caused it?
The bible tells a story about a manager who hires workers for his vineyard starting in the morning and going throughout the day. In the end he pays each worker equally regardless of how long they worked. Of course those who worked all day were not happy with the arrangement.
In this story the time to be payed
is the metaphor for the radical idea. Those who were hired last were most appreciative of the idea because they became aware of it at a closer proximity to its fulfillment.
Those who were angry were much further in proximity to its fulfillment and thus had a much harder time adapting and it's arrival even seemed unfair.
From your city, it may be hard to see the radical idea, but its not impossible. Proximity to the idea will
always inspire you forward, and this tells us something about our complaints.
The beauty is that each day, every one of us is invited (like the workers in the vineyard) into this idea. It makes no difference if we were invited first or last, only that we work towards its culmination.
An idea this inclusive is a game changer or should I say "City Changer?"
Have a great
day.
k
"So the last will be first, and the first last." (Matthew 19:30 & 20:16)
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OBLIVIOUS
I recently spent some time with Rob Bell for the purposes of getting help with this book. His coaching has really helped me.
I invite you to read the first three chapters (All new) and see if you agree.
